September 2013

Have you ever looked at a beautiful Civil War quilt and wondered what life might have been like for a woman living back then? Why did she choose those fabrics and how did she find the time to work on it? Completing a quilt can be overwhelming for a lot of us. Just starting one is daunting. We can help with that. This project was created for the beginner. No sewing experience or sewing machine is required.

Every second Wednesday of the month, the Museum of the Confederacy and the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park are partnering to bring the Civil War Sesquicentennial to Appomattox. Each month, a knowledgable speaker will lead a discussion on a topic or event's 150th anniversary.

Civil War authors Robert Driver, Richard Nicholas, Frank O’Reilly, Charles Ross, Pat Schroeder, and Stuart Towns will discuss and sign their books in the Museum’s second annual book fair. Cost: The public booksigning is included with regular Museum admission.

The members-only portions are free to all Museum members, but reservations are required. Members, please log in to the Members Only section of this site to RSVP.

In accordance with the Governor's declaration of 2013 as the "Year of the Historic Home," the White House of the Confederacy will be joining other historic houses across Richmond in offering free admission to passport holders on the weekend of September 14th and 15th.

Please note: Each individual must have their own passport in order to get free admission to the White House of the Confederacy. The Museum of the Confederacy is not included in this offer, and will be charging for admission these two days.

The year 1863 was a year of epidemics, accidents, inflation, riots, and death. Richmonders, striving to make ends meet, mourned the loss of a hero and wondered whether their sacrifices had all been in vain. Step back in time on this two-and-a-half hour, 2.39 mile tour and discover a city immersed in a desperate battle for survival. The tour begins at the Museum of the Confederacy-Richmond. Advance reservations required. Please contact Kelly Hancock at (855) 649-1861 x 121 or by email for more i

Cathy Wright, Curator, will be in the Museum of the Confederacy-Richmond's lobby, removing old conservation stitching from the battle flag of the 24th Virginia Infantry in preparation for the flag’s new conservation. The Fowler-Richey method of stitching was applied to many flags circa 1940 (including the “Star Spangled Banner”), but it is now considered damaging to flags and must be removed. Visitors will be able to watch this conservation effort up close and ask questions.

Throughout the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the Museum of the Confederacy-Richmond will be hosting a monthly series of talks devoted to a topic or event's 150th anniversary. These talks, normally scheduled for the third Friday of the month, are free for members and Richmond area residents, and are included with Museum admission for all others.

Historian and Park Ranger Emmanuel Dabney of Petersburg National Battlefield will present a lecture at the Museum of the Confederacy-Richmond on education, emancipation, and race in antebellum and wartime Richmond. Silas Omohundro was a white slave trader in pre-Civil War Richmond, while his third wife, Corinna and their children were African Americans and legally his human property. Information about the Omohundro family and material life will be contrasted against the lives of the enslaved people he owned and sold. Cost: Included with Museum admission.

Greg Biggs, former Associate Editor of Blue & Gray Magazine and flag aficionado, will lecture at the Museum of the Confederacy-Appomattox about the battle flags of the armies of the West from 1861-1865. Cost: Included with Museum admission.

Dr. Caroline E. Janney is associate professor of history at Purdue University. She is a native of Luray, Virginia, and earned her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. Her doctoral dissertation became her first book, "Burying the Dead, But Not the Past: Ladies Memorial Associations and the Lost Cause." Her Bottimore Lecture will be on the subject of her recently-published second book, "Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation," a volume in the prestigious Littlefield Series on the History of the Civil War Era.